Uneasy Alliance on Display as Russian and Chinese Leaders Meet

As the West pushes hard for increased sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis, President Vladimir Putin is seeking friendlier company in Shanghai this week, flying in for Chinese leader Xi Jinping's summit.

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President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters the Russian president and embattled Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich held a one-on-one meeting in Sochi on the day of the opening of the Winter Olympics. The meeting between the leaders, facing mass protests at home, was expected. "There was contact (between Putin and Yanukovich) in the course of (Olympic) events.

U.S. President Barack Obama told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday that Russia's actions in Ukraine were not conducive to a diplomatic solution of the crisis in that country, and the White House warned that Moscow would suffer further costs for its behavior.Obama spoke to Putin at the Russians' request, a senior administration official said, describing the call as "frank and direct," a diplomatic construction that usually means tense.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was kept out of Wednesday's summit of major economies over his actions in Ukraine, yet world leaders appeared eager to seek his renewed cooperation to settle the crisis.

U.S. President Barack Obama piled pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday (July 21) to force pro-Russian separatists to stop blocking an international investigation into the shoot-down of a passenger jet last week. In remarks at the White House, Obama said Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine have kept investigators away from the site of the downed Malaysian Airlines plane, at times firing their weapons into the air.

Russia and China strengthen ties as Chinese President Xi Jinping hosts Russian President Vladimir Putin in Shanghai. The two sign a joint statement on strategic cooperation. Xi says he has high hopes for the relationship.

President Barack Obama warned Russia that military intervention in Ukraine would lead to "costs," as tension with old foe President Vladimir Putin rose in a Cold War-style crisis. "We are now deeply concerned by reports of military movements taken by the Russian Federation inside of Ukraine," he told reporters. A U.S. official said, Obama and European leaders would consider skipping a G8 summit this summer in the Russian city of Sochi if Moscow intervenes militarily in Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin signed legislation on Friday that completed the process of absorbing Crimea into Russia, defying Western leaders who say the Black Sea peninsula remains part of Ukraine. In a Kremlin ceremony shown live on state television, Putin signed a law on ratification of a treaty making Crimea part of Russia as well as legislation creating two new Russian administrative districts: Crimea and the port city of Sevastopol.

President Barack Obama says the United States is concerned about further encroachment by Russia into Ukraine. Obama said it would be "a bad choice" Tuesday while attending a nuclear summit in the Netherlands. Photo: AP

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